Best choice for a new panel.

[Brandon Whitmore]

I'm going to do a panel change out in my house. Are there specific manufacturers that you would shy away from for any reason?

I need to install a 15 amp circuit for my furnace, so figure what the heck, upgrade from the Bulldog.

[Jim Katen]

I'm going to do a panel change out in my house. Are there specific manufacturers that you would shy away from for any reason?

I need to install a 15 amp circuit for my furnace, so figure what the heck, upgrade from the Bulldog.

Compared to the Bulldog, anything you put in is going to seem flimsy.

Any of the standard load centers will be about the same. I've used pretty much all Siemens stuff, but Square D is just as good.

One thing you might consider is installing a surge suppressor circuit breaker somewhere in the panel.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[Brandon Whitmore]

Thanks Jim,

Would you suggest keeping the old Bulldog? I could get new breakers for it, but that would be cost prohibitive to replace them all.

Oh yeah,

You should be getting a call for a WA inspection, if you have not already.

[Jim Katen]

Thanks Jim,

Would you suggest keeping the old Bulldog? I could get new breakers for it, but that would be cost prohibitive to replace them all.

Personally, I'd keep the old Bulldog. I wouldn't replace the breakers unless there was a problem with them. In my experience, they're very long-lasting and dependable equipment and when they fail, they tend to fail in safe mode. (They don't reset if they're hot.)

Of course, with a new panel you could have things like the aforementioned surge suppressor and AFCIs.

Oh yeah,

You should be getting a call for a WA inspection, if you have not already.

Thank you. I've only been able to do one in WA so far and I'm eager to do a second to see of all WA homes are as incredibly bad as that first one was.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[Brandon Whitmore]

In my experience, they're very long-lasting and dependable equipment and when they fail, they tend to fail in safe mode. (They don't reset if they're hot.)

My concern was mentioned on this site a while back. I tripped a breaker, didn't know why so I re- set it. While re- setting the breaker, there was a good sized arc in the panel and the breaker instantly tripped. As smart as I am , I re- set and arced again. Should a tripping breaker arc, or is there a loose connection perhaps?

Thank you. I've only been able to do one in WA so far and I'm eager to do a second to see of all WA homes are as incredibly bad as that first one was.

I used to have good luck in WA; a lot of the homes were newer construction, as is this one is.......[:-thumbu]

[Billy_Bob]

One thing to consider when buying a new panel is what breakers are mostly stocked in your local stores. See what breakers they carry; AFCI, GFCI, whole house snap in surge protector, good range of different amperage breakers, etc.

For some brands of panels the pickings are slim. For others they have the full range.

It is nice to go to the store and find what you need!

[Jim Port]

The biggest choice you have is whether you want a copper or aluminum buss.

Square D QO series has the Visi-trip indicator that shows when the breaker has tripped. No other brand has this feature.

[Tom Raymond]

Square D QO series are available at most home centers preloaded with a main and a dozen breakers for about a buck and a half. Good stuff at a good price, kinda not what you'd expect from the big box marts.

Tom

[MTL_Inspet_Man]

I like Siemens myself

[Brandon Whitmore]

Thanks all....

[Jim Katen]

In my experience, they're very long-lasting and dependable equipment and when they fail, they tend to fail in safe mode. (They don't reset if they're hot.)

My concern was mentioned on this site a while back. I tripped a breaker, didn't know why so I re- set it. While re- setting the breaker, there was a good sized arc in the panel and the breaker instantly tripped. As smart as I am , I re- set and arced again. Should a tripping breaker arc, or is there a loose connection perhaps?

I've had lots of different brands of breakers arc when they were connected to short circuits.

As an experiment, you might try swapping breakers and seeing if the different breaker behaves the same way.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[Brandon Whitmore]

I've had lots of different brands of breakers arc when they were connected to short circuits.

As an experiment, you might try swapping breakers and seeing if the different breaker behaves the same way.

This was probably the first time I'd been standing next to a panel during a short situation, so I really don't know what is considered normal. The sparks didn't seem right to me.

To recreate the short, I'd have to mess with the new air compressor's wiring. Hmmmmm......

[Mr. Electric]

I would get rid of the Bulldog. It is obsolete and may be an issue someday when you sell the house.

As far as the panel brand question there are 2 that I would install in my own house. They are Cutler Hammer (CH type) and Sq. D (not homeline). These both have copper buss and breakers that work when needed. All the other brands (including Siemens) in my opinion are not up to thier quality level. All the others use aluminum buss and we see more problems with them (GE, Siemens, ITE, Murray, Crouse Hinds, etc.).

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[Bill Kibbel]

I would get rid of the Bulldog. It is obsolete and may be an issue someday when you sell the house.

Got anything (other than personal opinion) that someone could reference to declare a Bulldog obsolete? Where can one find that it it's an issue when selling a house?

[Brandon Whitmore]

They are Cutler Hammer (CH type) and Sq. D (not homeline).

I've decided to keep the Bulldog for the time being, so I installed a Cutler Hammer sub- panel next to it. Reason being that there are no 15 amp circuits in my panel to steal, and I did not want to wait for an e- bay / mail order one.

As a side note: Never let a PG&E employee wire a house-- they make a mess of things. My entire system is pretty jacked up.